Alwaki
Alwaki in 1922
| Name | Alwaki | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 4,533 tons | ||
| Completed | 1922 - Van der Kuy & Van der Rees NV (Werft Maasdijk), Schiedam | ||
| Owner | NV Van Nievelt, Goudriaan & Co´s Stoomvaart Mij, Rotterdam | ||
| Homeport | Rotterdam | ||
| Date of attack | 10 Jul 1940 | Nationality:  Dutch | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-61 (Jürgen Oesten) | ||
| Position | 58.46N, 04.46W - Grid AM 1542 - See location on a map - | ||
| Complement | 51 (0 dead and 51 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | OA-179 | ||
| Route | London (4 Jul) - outbound | ||
| Cargo | Ballast | ||
| History | | ||
| Notes on loss | The Alwaki (Master J.M. Schoegl) had joined the convoy OA-179 on 6 Jul, 1940. At 13.06 hours on 10 July, the ship was hit by two torpedoes fired by U-61 from just over 200 metres (!) distance. The torpedoes hit the ship, penetrated the hull but did not detonate. The Alwaki was shaken and immediately started to list to port, because a bulkhead could not be closed and was slowly flooded. A British freighter came alongside and took off all 41 crew members and ten passengers. They were landed at Cardiff on 15 July. The British tug HMS Bandit tried to salvage the ship, but she sank after 22.00 hours 10 miles northeast of Cape Wrath. The absence of the explosion led to the erroneous conclusion by the Admiralty that sabotage was the cause of her loss. | ||
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